Privately commenting to Brock and Dawn on the battle between Ash and Paul, Cynthia predicted that they would both be entering the Champion League soon.

Privately commenting to Brock and Dawn on the battle between Ash and Paul, Cynthia predicted that they would both be entering the Champion League soon.

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Paul made a cameo appearance during the credits of ''[[M13|Zoroark: Master of Illusions]]'', where he was seen visiting a ruin with statues of {{p|Dialga}} and {{p|Palkia}}. He also makes a cameo in [[Let's Join Hands]], along with his Magmortar and Electivire.

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Paul made a cameo appearance during the credits of ''[[M13|Zoroark: Master of Illusions]]'', where he was seen visiting a ruin with statues of {{p|Dialga}} and {{p|Palkia}}. He also makes a cameo in [[Let's Join Hands]], along with several his Pokémon.

History

At the beginning it was assumed that Paul was a Trainer just starting out. However, this was proven false in Top-Down Training where he revealed that he had already traveled through Hoenn, Johto and Kanto, participating in their respective Leagues but didn't win anything before returning to Sinnoh. In A Pyramiding Rage!, it was revealed that Kanto was the very first region he traveled through.

A Pyramiding Rage! revealed much about Paul's motivation as a Pokémon Trainer and more about his character. When Reggie was a roaming Pokémon Trainer, he had lost to Brandon. Reggie's loss to Brandon is what caused Paul to be so adamant about strength in battle. This single loss is also what caused Paul to become the callous person he was, and that was because of how his brother handled the loss. Instead of bearing the shame of his loss to Brandon, Reggie moved on with his life and put the loss behind him. Paul found this to be unacceptable, and he became disappointed of his brother. He challenged Brandon to a full battle in hopes that he would be able to do what his brother never could. However, Paul lost to Brandon without being able to knock out any of Brandon's Pokémon. Brandon said that this loss was because Paul was unable to control his emotions.

Following Reggie's suggestion in A Pyramiding Rage!, Paul battled Ash in a full battle in Pedal to the Mettle! and Evolving Strategies!. Here, he showed his true colors in battle and, despite Ash's Chimchar evolving into Monferno and three of Ash's Pokémon using the Counter Shield strategy, Paul won the match easily with only at a loss of two Pokémon overall, where one defeated half of Ash's team nearly single-handedly. He had his Pokémon use a broad variety of strategies, which he kept up his sleeve until this battle, such as tempting Ash to send his Staraptor up against his Torterra so he could attack it with Stone Edge, Electabuzz using Light Screen to aid its comrades, using his Ursaring against Ash's Pikachu so as to activate its Guts Ability, and his Magmortar using Rock Tomb to protect itself against Water-type attacks. As a result, his strategy of completely overwhelming and outsmarting Ash with his more powerful Pokémon team succeeded.

Paul reappeared in Fighting Ire with Fire!, encountering Ash for the first time since their full battle. He also met his admirer Barry for the first time; however, Paul wasn't impressed by him and refused his offer for a battle, suggesting he battle Ash instead. He later watched the battle between Ash's Monferno and Barry's Empoleon and when Pikachu, Piplup and Empoleon were nearly crushed by one of Team Rocket's damaged mechas, he saved the three with the help of his Electabuzz. He then witnessed Monferno evolving into Infernape, who then saved Electabuzz and the other Pokémon from getting crushed. Paul was impressed by Infernape, and gained a little respect for Ash at how well he had raised it. When asked by Ash if they could have another full battle, Paul confirmed they would in the Sinnoh League, and that Reggie was looking forward to seeing it.

In An Old Family Blend!, he was shown in the stadium along with all the other competitors. In League Unleashed!, he passed the preliminary round. In Casting a Paul on Barry!, with his superior tactics and the superior power of his Pokémon, he defeated Barry in the third round. His next battle was against his rival Ash in Familiarity Breeds Strategy!, continuing into A Real Rival Rouser! and Battling a Thaw in Relations!. After a fierce battle, Paul was finally defeated, and he and Ash parted on good terms, Ash having earned Paul's respect. It also seemed Paul had decided to change somewhat, as when Electivire was defeated, he thanked it for a job well done, something that, up until that point, Paul never did, even if his Pokémon won. Afterwards, Paul stated that his next intention was to return to Snowpoint City and re-challenge Brandon. He briefly appeared in The Semi-Final Frontier!, seeing Ash lose to Tobias.

Privately commenting to Brock and Dawn on the battle between Ash and Paul, Cynthia predicted that they would both be entering the Champion League soon.

Personality and training

Paul's only concern in his Pokémon is of their strength in battle. He strongly dislikes weak Pokémon and has a habit of releasing them if they do not meet his high expectations. To this effect, Paul always checks new captures with his Pokédex to learn what moves they know and trains the Pokémon he keeps harshly to make them strong. He feels that bonding with Pokémon would only turn them into slackers. He also has a habit of scolding his Pokémon for losing to opponents he feels they could have beaten, especially Chimchar. He has also demonstrated similar behavior to Azumarill, Honchkrow and Ursaring. His catchphrase when calling out Pokémon is "<Pokémon>, Battle Standby!" in Japanese version and "<Pokémon>, standby for battle!" in English version.

As a person, he is very callous at times and even brutal, especially in battle and as a result, he has been shown to display very little emotion other than an occasional rough smile.

Reggie and Paul

Sometimes, he gives some of his Pokémon to his brother, Reggie, for temporary training and caretaking, as revealed in Lost Leader Strategy!. Paul also disagrees with his brother for giving up on being a Pokémon Trainer after failing to get the Brave Symbol. He feels his brother's approach and view on this to be wrong. Reggie cares about his brother and ultimately loves him as brother but has no illusions about Paul's character. He openly admitted sadly that Paul has always had a cruel streak.

Paul has been shown to have a certain degree of athleticism. In Different Strokes for Different Blokes, he and Chimchar were seen to be able to downwardly scale a cliff of a waterfall near Bewilder Forest by swinging and leaping from rocks and branches. This could indicate that Paul physically trains himself and not just his Pokémon.

Paul originally felt that Ash was a weak Trainer and could easily bring on his anger by stating it. Ash's very different attitude towards being friends with Pokémon also provided much fuel to their rivalry. Despite that, Paul barely recognized their rivalry and Ash as a Trainer and ignored his speeches about loving his Pokémon. However Paul's first hint of respect for Ash was in A Pyramiding Rage! when he was very surprised to hear that Ash had beaten Brandon in a Pokémon battle.

Although Paul found most of the Pokémon in Ash's party at the time to be weak, he had shown a particular interest in his Pikachu, as shown in A Gruff Act To Follow!, after Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Roark's Cranidos. Paul was also angered by how Ash "contradicts" himself by criticizing Paul's training methods and then uses similar ones, such as entering the Wallace Cup, despite Ash's motivations being clearly different than Paul's.

Paul appears to feel indifference to Dawn, showing that he didn't even bother to remember her name in A Gruff Act to Follow. However he talks to her about Ash in Familiarity Breeds Strategy!. Paul confesses his main problem with Ash is his talk about bringing out a Pokémon's inner strength and how any Pokémon has the potential to be strong reminds him a lot of Reggie. Paul shows mild respect as well as distaste towards Brock, probably because Brock supports Ash's view on Pokémon. Paul does show respect for his elders, such as Professor Rowan, Cynthia, Nurse Joy and Brandon. However it should be noted that keeping with his views of strong Pokémon and strong Trainers that he only respects actual Trainers with strong Pokémon. While he respects Professor Rowan and Nurse Joy for their wisdom and positions, he only respects Cynthia and Brandon for their abilities as Trainers. He is shown to have no respect for Gym Leaders who he feels are weak. While he was shown to respect Roark who he judged to be in the end a worthy opponent, he was openly rude and mean to Maylene.

Paul was impressed by Infernape, and gained a little respect for Ash at how well he had raised it. When asked by Ash if they could have another full battle, Paul confirmed they would in the Sinnoh League and that Reggie was looking forward to seeing it.

After a fierce battle in the Sinnoh League Tournament, Paul was finally defeated and he and Ash parted on good terms, Ash having earned Paul's respect. It also seems Paul may have decided to change somewhat, as when Electivire is defeated, he thanks it for a job well done, something that, up until that point, Paul never did, even if his Pokémon won.

Pokémon

This section is incomplete.Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Japanese voice actors for Paul's Ninjask and Gastrodon.

As a result of Paul's selective team creation, his active team is composed of Pokémon that he deems to be powerful. Whilst the captures of Ursaring and Gliscor were shown in Different Strokes for Different Blokes and Riding the Winds of Change! respectively, and Ninjask's was revealed in a flashback during Glory Blaze!, his team has for the most part been captured off-screen. Several other Pokémon in his possession were captured on screen but later released.

On hand

This listing is of Paul's Pokémon as of the most recent Japanese episode and the ones used for the lastfullbattle against Ash:

In A Real Rival Rouser!, it was revealed that Paul still had Ninjask, and Paul chose it to battle against Ash's Gliscor. It fought hard against Gliscor but was eventually defeated after a hard battle with Infernape. It was the fourth Pokémon used by Paul.

In Familiarity Breeds Strategy! it was shown that Lairon had evolved into an Aggron and battled against Ash's Pikachu in the Lily of the Valley Conference. It managed to give Pikachu problems, but was eventually defeated by Ash's Infernape. It was the first Pokémon used by Paul in the Conference. It was one of the two Pokémon used by Paul to uncover Ash's strategy, the other being Gastrodon.

Paul's Gastrodon first made its appearance in Familiarity Breeds Strategy!. It battled against Ash's Staraptor where it proved to be a tough opponent, even using Muddy Water as a Counter Shield. However, it was beaten by Ash's Buizel after Ash recalled Staraptor. It was the second Pokémon used by Paul. It was one of the two Pokémon used by Paul to uncover Ash's strategy, the other being Aggron.

Paul's Drapion first made its appearance in Familiarity Breeds Strategy!, where it battled against Ash's Buizel. Despite Buizel's efforts, using his Counter Shield, Drapion was able to defeat him in A Real Rival Rouser! with a combination of Pin Missile and Toxic Spikes. Drapion next battled Ash's Staraptor. It managed to dodge all of Staraptor's moves and used Pin Missile which threw Staraptor to the ground and caused it to get knocked out by Toxic Spikes.

It then went up against Ash's Torterra, who felt the effect of Toxic Spikes upon being release from its Poké Ball. Torterra did manage to plant a few hits on Drapion but it regained the upper-hand after using Poison Fang. Torterra tried to recover with its Synthesis but was knocked out after being hit by Pin Missile. Paul then recalled Drapion after its third victory.

Later, Drapion was used to battle Ash's Gliscor. Unlike before, Gliscor proved too quick for Drapion to keep up with and it managed to attack with Giga Impact before Drapion could make a move. Still it put up a fight with Pin Missile. In the end, it was knocked out after being burned from Gliscor's Fire Fang in Battling a Thaw in Relations!. It was the third Pokémon called out by Paul in the battle, and the only one that was recalled by him during the entire battle.

Froslass was used by Paul in his second full battle against Ash in the Lily of the Valley Conference where she went up against Ash's Pikachu. Using Hail, Froslass was able to cause damage to Pikachu, restrict his Thunderbolt and allow herself to hide. Eventually, Pikachu was able to get the upper hand and defeated Froslass with Iron Tail and Volt Tackle. She was the fifth Pokémon used by Paul in the battle.

With Reggie

In Veilstone City, Reggie told Ash that Paul's "other Pokémon are here too" which may include his reserves. In Glory Blaze!, Paul mentions that he wanted Chimchar to become the most powerful out of all his Fire-type Pokémon. This could mean he has other Fire-type Pokémon besides Magmortar.

Gliscor first appeared in Riding the Winds of Change! where it had become trapped in a city after being blown there by a violent windstorm. Gliscor's attempts at using sonar to navigate out of the city were blocked by the tall buildings, and only served to attract more Gligar and the Pokémon soon formed a pack. Seeing as it was a powerful Pokémon, Paul battled Gliscor with his Electabuzz and Weavile, and caught it afterwards.

Paul's Hariyama has only appeared in A Pyramiding Rage!. It fought against Brandon's Regirock, with Paul bringing it out to utilise its type advantage. It appeared to be very powerful, managing to block Regirock's otherwise deadly Stone Edge with its hands and strike with multiple Arm Thrusts. However, it was caught at close range, stunned with Shock Wave and flattened by a strong Focus Punch.

Paul's Nidoking has only appeared in A Pyramiding Rage!. He fought against Brandon's Registeel. Nidoking also proved to be powerful, surprising even Brandon with his ability to recover so quickly from a Flash Cannon to the face. He hit Registeel directly with all of his attacks, but the Drill Pokémon didn't manage to cause much damage to the Iron Pokémon and was defeated with a powerful Iron Head.

Paul caught three Starly in When Pokémon Worlds Collide!. Two of them were released as soon as he checked them on his Pokédex. The final Starly was kept due to its knowledge of Aerial Ace and used against Ash's Starly in their first battle. Despite Paul's Starly winning, Paul decided it was not up to his standards and so it was released after the battle.

When Paul first saw Chimchar, it was being chased by a group of Zangoose. Paul was impressed with it and added it to his regular team. However, this first impression did not match up to Chimchar's normal abilities and so Paul regularly criticized it for being weak. After losing to Cynthia's Garchomp in Top-Down Training, Paul realized that Chimchar was not fulfilling his expectations. This culminated in the tag battle tournament arc where he was forced to battle alongside Ash. During a battle against a Zangoose and a Metagross, Chimchar was too scared to make any attack when caught in Zangoose's claws. After the battle, Paul released Chimchar in front of Ash, who then invited it to join him.

After such a loss, Paul gave Azumarill away to a little boy during A Gruff Act to Follow, claiming it had no potential to improve and there was no point wasting his time on it. This infuriated Ash and set their rivalry in stone.

Trivia

Early artwork

Paul was first revealed to the fandom through a CoroCoro scan that showed him alongside Ash and Dawn commanding a Chimchar. However, his name and role was not revealed until the following week and so he received the fan name "Nugai" (a pun derived from "new guy") during that time.

Three of Ash's Pokémon have evolved while battling against Paul: Turtwig into Grotle, Staravia into Staraptor, and Chimchar into Monferno. Both Turtwig and Staravia evolved while battling Honchkrow.

Paul is the first regular rival seen capturing a Pokémon on screen.

Paul has been defeated onscreen three times, and each time three of his Pokémon debuted.